JOSEPH'S MAGNANIMITY
As Joseph was returning from the burial of his father in
the Cave of Machpelah, he passed the pit into which his
brethren had once cast him, and he looked into it, and said,
"Blessed be God who permitted a miracle to come to pass
for me here!" The brethren inferred from these words of
gratitude, which Joseph but uttered in compliance with the
injunctions of the law, that he cherished the recollection of
the evil they had done him, and they feared, that now their
father was dead, their brother would requite them in accordance
with their deeds. They observed, moreover, that since
their father was no more, Joseph had given up the habit of
entertaining them at his table, and they interpreted this as
a sign of his hatred of them. In reality, it was due to